egg freezing

More and more people are freezing their eggs; in fact, in 2021 we saw a 46% increase in egg freezing cycles in the United States. If you’re exploring egg freezing, you may have a lot of questions, including if you can stay on birth control or not. In this article, we will discuss how birth control works and answer common questions about egg freezing while on various types of birth control.

How birth control works

Birth control methods work in various ways to prevent pregnancy. Hormonal methods, such as the pill, patch, ring, and injection, regulate hormones in the body to prevent ovulation. Without ovulation, there is no egg available for fertilization.

Non-hormonal methods, such as condoms, diaphragms, and intrauterine devices (IUDs), physically prevent sperm from reaching the egg or alter the environment in the uterus to prevent implantation. IUDs can be either hormonal or non-hormonal, depending on the type.

If you are freezing your eggs, do not start or stop your current birth control regimen without talking to your fertility doctor. 

Can I freeze my eggs while on the pill?

You will need to stop taking the pill before the actual egg freezing cycle. That’s because hormonal birth control is intended to prevent ovulation, but during freezing you want to do exactly the opposite. Some doctors will have you stop during your egg freezing cycle, and some may have you stop for the month leading up to the retrieval. 

The irony is that in preparation for an egg freezing cycle, the birth control pill is commonly prescribed for two to three weeks to sync your cycle and reduce the chance of inducing a cyst from the ovulation follicle. It can also help synchronize the cohort of follicles for a more optimal response. So if you’re not on the pill, you may be prescribed birth control pills with the start of the menstrual cycle in which you plan to undergo the egg freezing cycle.

Can I freeze my eggs while on Depo-Provera?

Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) is an injection that contains a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. Since this shot can interfere with hormonal medications, you may have to wait up to three to six months after the last shot until your ovaries are in an optimal state to be stimulated.

While Depo-Provera can affect the timing of ovulation, it does not impact the number or quality of eggs that are retrieved during the egg freezing process.

Can I freeze my eggs with an IUD?

Yes! Unlike other forms of birth control, IUDs do not prevent ovulation and therefore will not get in the way of stimulating egg production during your freezing cycle. If you have an IUD, there’s no need to remove it before your cycle. Although if you’ve been meaning to take it out, ask the doctor if they can do it during your procedure. 

Studies show that egg and embryo freezing results are the same for patients with or without IUDs.

Can I freeze my eggs with Nexplanon (birth control implant)?

Nexplanon is a small rod inserted under the skin of the upper arm that releases a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. While it may not directly impact egg quantity or quality, some clinics require it to be removed before starting the egg freezing cycle. This is ultimately up to your physician's protocol, so it’s important to check with your clinic. In many cases, removal and reinsertion of the implant is covered by insurance.

Can I freeze my eggs with the patch?

Like the pill, the patch contains synthetic hormones that regulate the body's natural hormone levels and prevent ovulation. In order to begin an egg freezing cycle, you will need to remove the patch. 

Can I freeze my eggs with NuvaRing?

The NuvaRing is a vaginal hormonal birth control ring. Because it’s using hormones to prevent ovulation, like the pill and the patch, you will need to remove the NuvaRing before your cycle. However, your fertility doctor will give you instructions and there’s no need to remove it until they tell you to. 

Why is my doctor prescribing birth control to freeze my eggs?!

While it may seem counterintuitive, many fertility doctors recommend or prescribe birth control at the beginning of the egg freezing process. There are several reasons why:

• To coordinate the timing of stimulation start. Hormonal birth control pills can be used to offset the menstrual cycle to help facilitate the best timing for your cycle with your clinic/lab.
• To reduce the likelihood of ovarian cysts. Birth control pills may help to suppress the growth of ovarian cysts, which can interfere with the egg retrieval process. 

So while it may seem counterintuitive, using birth control pills before egg freezing is pretty typical. 

Summing it up

Hormonal birth control methods work by regulating hormones in the body to prevent ovulation, while non-hormonal methods physically prevent sperm from reaching the egg or alter the environment in the uterus to prevent implantation. While it is possible to freeze your eggs while on various types of birth control, it depends on which one. 

• Definitely okay: condoms, diaphragms
• Generally okay: IUD, birth control implant
• Need to stop: the pill, the patch, NuvaRing
• Potential wait of three-six months: Depo-Provera

Of course, do not start or stop your current birth control regimen without talking to your fertility doctor first.  

Freeze your eggs with Cofertility

Cofertility is in the “family” business, striving to make egg freezing and third-party reproduction more human-centered and accessible for all. Our Freeze by Co program allows you to freeze your eggs for free when you give half of the eggs retrieved to a family who can't otherwise conceive.

In recent years, freezing eggs has become an increasingly popular option for those who want to delay having children and keep their options open. Whether it's to focus on their career, to wait for the right partner, or for medical reasons, egg freezing can give you more control over their reproductive futures. But what happens when the time comes to use those frozen eggs? In this article, we'll explore everything you need to know about having a baby with your frozen eggs, if and when you're ready.

Using your frozen eggs down the line

Before we dive into using frozen eggs, let's first review how egg freezing works. The process, called oocyte cryopreservation, involves harvesting your eggs and freezing them for later use. This is typically done through a process called controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, which involves taking medication to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. The eggs are then harvested through a minor surgical procedure and frozen using a process called vitrification.

As part of our Split program, where you can freeze your eggs for free when you donate half of the eggs retrieved to another family that can’t conceive, our members get 10 years of frozen egg storage included for free. When the time comes to use those frozen eggs to have a baby, the process is called in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF involves thawing your frozen eggs, fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory, growing the embryos, and then transferring the resulting embryos to the uterus. 

Here are the steps involved in using frozen eggs to have a baby:

• Thawing the eggs: The frozen eggs are carefully thawed in a laboratory to ensure their survival.
• Fertilization: Once the eggs are thawed, they are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. This can be done using either conventional IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
• Embryo culture: The fertilized eggs, or embryos, are then cultured in a laboratory for several days to allow them to develop.
• Embryo transfer: Once the embryos have developed, one or more are transferred to the uterus using a thin catheter. Any remaining embryos can be frozen for later use.

Read more in: Split Member Guide: What To Do When You’re Ready To Use Your Frozen Eggs

Choosing a fertility clinic

You do not have to use the same clinic you used to freeze your eggs to then fertilize those eggs and transfer the embryos. Some people choose to switch clinics because they moved or because they found a doctor they like better elsewhere. If you’re looking for a new clinic, you will want to review the clinic's success rates. The success rates can be found through the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) website. Be sure to compare the success rates of the clinic to national averages. You can also look up the clinic’s reviews online, or ask friends for suggestions.

One thing to keep in mind when switching clinics is that different clinics may have different protocols and procedures for thawing and using frozen eggs. This is usually not a problem, but it will be important for your new clinic to know how your eggs were frozen.

Ultimately, the decision to use the same clinic or transport your eggs to another clinic is a personal one that should be made based on your individual needs and preferences.

Getting your eggs out of storage

If you’re staying at the same clinic, many clinics choose to store eggs in a long-term storage facility versus at the clinic itself. If that’s the case, the clinic is usually responsible for transporting the eggs back to the clinic and laboratory to create embryos. 

If you’re moving clinics, you’ll likely need to coordinate getting your eggs out of long-term storage. Transporting frozen eggs is relatively straightforward and there are several carrier options you can use to safely get your eggs out of storage. If you worked with Cofertility to freeze your eggs, we can help put you in touch with the storage facility to coordinate moving the eggs to a clinic of your choice.  

So how much will it cost for me to unfreeze my eggs?

The cost of using frozen eggs to have a baby can vary depending on several factors, including the location of the fertility clinic, the number of cycles needed to achieve a successful pregnancy, and whether you have any underlying medical conditions that could affect the process. 

Here are some expenses you can expect when thawing your eggs:

• Egg thawing and fertilization 
• Genetic testing (optional)
• Medication if necessary
• Embryo transfer

In total, this can range from $3,000-$10,000 totally depending on the clinic and the medication you may require pre-transfer. It’s best to reach out to clinics you are interested in to get real pricing.

Success rates with frozen eggs

The success rates of using frozen eggs to have a baby can vary depending on several factors, including your age at the time the eggs were frozen, the quality of the eggs, and the number of embryos transferred. Generally, the younger you were when freezing your eggs, the higher the chances of success. 

Studies show that for a woman under age 35, nine eggs give you a 70% chance of at least one child. As medicine and technology advances, we hope to see this number increase even further!

Summing it up

Egg freezing provides the flexibility and peace of mind that comes with knowing your eggs are safely stored and available for future use while you live your best life. You may not even need those eggs to get pregnant down the line; but if you do, you’ll be so glad you froze them. 

Freeze your eggs with Cofertility

Cofertility is a human-first, tech-enabled fertility ecosystem that provides people agency over if, how, and when they have babies — today or someday. We have two programs for egg freezers:

1. Our Split program offers women a chance to freeze their eggs for free when donating half of the eggs retrieved to a family who cannot otherwise conceive. If you qualify for the program and decide to donate half of your retrieved eggs, every expense associated with the egg freezing procedure —  medications, supplements, travel if necessary, insurance, and 10 years of storage — are completely free of charge. We don’t even need a payment or credit card up front, as the family you match with covers all the expenses.
2. Our self-pay Keep program allows women to freeze their eggs and keep them all for their future use. Through Keep, we offer our members partnerships and discounts to lighten the financial load of egg freezing, as well as access to our member community.

The benefits of working with Cofertility include:

• Power of choice: Freeze your eggs more affordably or, if you qualify, freeze for free when you give half to a family who can’t otherwise conceive.
• Community: Our inclusive online spaces allow you to connect with others going through the process in our private online community.
• Compassion: We’ll always treat you with care, and our Split program gives you the opportunity to make someone’s family building dreams a reality.
• Data-driven: We provide you with trustworthy guidance and evidence-based research so you can make informed decisions about your fertility.
• Free egg freezing: Freeze and store your eggs for 10 years, entirely for free if you qualify for our Split program.

Ready to learn about more affordable (even free!) egg freezing with Cofertility? Fill out this quick quiz to learn about our accessible egg freezing options and see if you qualify for our programs — it only takes one minute.

Whether you’re about to go through the egg retrieval process for egg donation, egg freezing, or a full in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle, you’re likely going to have some questions. While this procedure seems intimidating to a lot of folks, it’s actually not as scary as it seems. Understanding how the process works and what to look out for can help ease some of those pre-procedure jitters, so let’s break it all down. 

Before

Questions for your provider

Knowing what’s coming is half the battle when it comes to medical procedures.Here we’ve listed some great questions to ask your provider before your egg retrieval.

• Can you walk me through the timeline for the egg retrieval, from when I give myself the trigger shot (a medication sometimes used to help your ovaries release mature eggs) to the recovery room after the procedure?
• What anesthesia options are available?
• What is your best estimate of how many eggs you think you’ll be able to retrieve?
• What are the most common side effects you see after the procedure? What do you recommend I do to manage those symptoms if I have them?
• Is there anything you recommend I do leading up to the procedure to minimize my risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)? 
• When and how will the clinic update me about the eggs after the procedure (e.g., phone, email, app, etc.)?
• How can I reach your clinic if I have questions or concerns?
• Who do I contact if I have a problem outside the clinic’s normal hours?

Depending on your particular situation, you may need to ask more questions, but this is a good place to start. 

Anesthesia/sedation options

For egg retrievals, an anesthesiologist will be on site to provide your sedation. Most clinics use monitored sedation that is propofol-based. This is not the same as general anesthesia, which is used for longer and more invasive procedures and requires a breathing tube. With monitored sedation, a medication is given through the veins (IV) to make sure you feel no pain or discomfort during the procedure. No breathing tube is used, so you’ll be able to breathe on your own. This is commonly called “twilight” sedation—think of it as a really great nap! 

Unfortunately for some folks, nausea can be a side effect of the anesthesia. If you’ve had anesthesia before and you know you’re prone to nausea, make sure to let the anesthesiologist know about it. There are a few other ways to help manage nausea due to anesthesia.

• Stay hydrated. Postop nausea is sometimes due to dehydration, usually because you haven’t had anything to eat or drink before your surgery. Dehydration leads to low blood pressure, which can make you even more queasy. As soon as you’re able to after your procedure, start rehydrating. Staying really hydrated up until the night before your procedure can also help. 

• Take anti-nausea medicines. Some over-the-counter (OTC) options like antacids, ginger root tablets, and others can be helpful for mild to moderate nausea. Ask your doctor before using any of these though! Some medications can’t be taken together. If the OTC options don’t help, you can also ask your doctor about prescription options.
• Avoid activities that require too much movement or concentration. Things that involve concentration or changes in your perception (like reading or riding in a car) will often make symptoms worse. Closing your eyes and keeping your room dimly lit can help calm your nervous system while the anesthesia wears off fully.

You can learn even more about all the anesthesia and sedation options here.

Prep

Most clinics will go through their specific requirements and recommendations at your preoperative visit. The most important thing to avoid is having anything to eat or drink the day of the procedure. 

A common question people ask is whether they need to shave before their egg retrieval. The answer is no—shaving (or not shaving) does not impact the procedure at all so come as you are! If you prep anything, it should be everything you need for when you come back home to recover. Here’s a checklist of things to have ready on the day of your procedure:

• Comfortable, loose clothes
• Heating pad(s)
• OTC medicines like Tylenol, stool softeners, and anti-nausea 
• Plenty of fluids and electrolytes (water, Gatorade/Powerade, coconut water, etc.) 
• Activities like audiobooks, movies, etc. that don’t require too much concentration
• Someone to take you home

During

Is egg retrieval painful?

This is the most common question we get and it’s totally understandable! Thankfully, with the anesthesia that’s given, you will be asleep so won’t feel or remember anything during the procedure. 

What exactly happens during an egg retrieval?

Alright, let’s get into how this procedure actually works. First, the doctor will use a transvaginal ultrasound to find your ovaries, which should by now have clusters of tiny follicles. Your doctor will then gently guide a long needle through an opening in the ultrasound probe and into the vaginal wall. This needle is attached to a catheter and the catheter is attached to test tubes labeled with your name and unique patient identification number. One by one, the eggs will be drawn out of the ovaries using light suction and collected in the test tubes. These test tubes are  then handed off to the embryologist, an expert in the science of oocyte cryopreservation (the technical term for egg freezing).

Once all the eggs that can be retrieved are collected, the doctor will remove the needle. They will examine your ovaries and your vaginal wall to make sure there isn’t too much bleeding. It’s normal for these sites to bleed a little–they did just have a needle inserted into them. Typically,  your doctor will be prepared to apply pressure or, rarely, to use a cauterizing (heated) agent to control any bleeding. 

That’s it! You’ll leave with no stitches or scars. Pretty cool, huh?

How long does an egg retrieval take?

The process described above may sound really complicated but in reality, it only takes about 15 minutes. That’s less time than most people spend scrolling TikTok while on the toilet. 

After

Waking up

Immediately after the egg retrieval, you’ll definitely be a little groggy as you recover from the anesthesia. You’ll usually be told to rest for 30–60 minutes in the recovery area, where someone will monitor you as you wake up from the anesthesia. Most anesthesia takes about 24 hours to be fully out of your system, but you’ll feel close to normal by the time you leave the office.

During your recovery time, your doctor will come in to let you know how many eggs were successfully retrieved. They will also let you know how many eggs were deemed mature by the embryologist. What does that mean? Well, let’s go way back to middle school biology. Mature eggs have reached the metaphase II (M2) stage and are therefore considered to have “meiotic competence”. Meiosis is the process of cutting the number of chromosomes and genetic material by half so that when it combines with sperm, the resulting embryo has the proper number of chromosomes and all the genetic material it’s supposed to have.

Immature eggs are not capable of fertilizing because they are not “meiotically competent”. However, sometimes it is possible to have eggs mature in the lab (in vitro maturation or IVM) and then fertilize them. While this isn’t popular now, we do ask our partner clinics to freeze immature eggs for when this technology is more widespread in the future. 

In our Split program, where you freeze for free when donating half, you keep half of the mature eggs PLUS 100% of any immature eggs if they are retrieved and vitrified.

Common side effects and how to manage them

After everything is said and done, the most common side effects people have are constipation, bloating, cramping, spotting, and pain. Rest, over the counter medicines like Tylenol and stool softeners, and staying hydrated are usually all that’s needed for these symptoms. Heating pads can also be really helpful for those who have cramping or pain. If you have any bleeding, make sure to use pads—not tampons—so you can monitor the amount.

The majority of people are back to their normal activities by the next day, but it’s recommended that you go home and relax for the rest of that day with another adult with you, just in case. You also should not drive for at least 24 hours after your procedure. 

Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic or other medications depending on your case. You may be asked to avoid sexual intercourse for a period of time or avoid things like taking a bath. Make sure to follow any specific instructions your provider gives you for your recovery. 

Red flags

If you notice any of the symptoms below, report them to your healthcare provider asap:

• Temperature above 101 F
• Severe abdominal pain or swelling
• Severe nausea or vomiting that doesn’t go away
• Heavy vaginal bleeding (soaking through a pad in an hour; some light bleeding is normal)
• Difficulty urinating, or painful urination
• Fainting or dizziness

Good Luck!

If and when you decide to pursue egg freezing, Freeze by Co is here to help you every step of the way. As mentioned earlier, our Split program allows those who qualify to freeze their eggs for free! In a Split cycle, you donate half of the eggs retrieved to a family that can’t otherwise conceive and freeze the remaining half for yourself, so you get half the mature eggs and all the immature ones. 

Don’t want to donate? We got you! You can still participate in the Keep program, where you’re able to freeze your eggs and keep them all for yourself, on your timeline. In addition, you’ll have access to our online support community. This is a valuable resource that lets you engage with other people freezing their eggs at the same time! 

The best way to feel comfortable and confident about your egg retrieval is to know what to expect. The process won’t be exactly the same for everyone but with the tips we shared above, you’ll be more than prepared when the big day comes. Whatever you choose, our team is here to support you and help you feel empowered as you determine which family-building options are right for you!

Egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) is an increasingly popular option for women who want to preserve their fertility and take control of their future. Whether you’re focusing on your career, waiting for the right partner, or managing a health condition, egg freezing can provide peace of mind and more flexibility in your family-building journey.

But let’s be honest: the cost of egg freezing can feel overwhelming. In fact, when we surveyed over 750 women about egg freezing, 67% said cost was their biggest barrier. That’s why we created Cofertility, and our Split program—to make egg freezing more accessible and affordable for everyone.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most common ways to pay for egg freezing, from employer benefits and financing options to our unique egg sharing program, where eligible women can freeze their eggs for free by donating half to a family in need. Whether you’re just starting to explore your options or you’re ready to take the next step, we’re here to help you navigate egg freezing with confidence.

First off, how much does it cost to freeze your eggs?

This is always a difficult question to answer because it depends! It depends on the clinic you’re going to, where you are located, the medications you are prescribed (it differs based on your age and body), and where/how long you store the eggs. Average egg freezing cycle costs range from $10,000 - $20,000, plus annual storage. 

How can I pay for egg freezing?

If you want to freeze your eggs and research all your options for paying for it, here are the main buckets of options.

Health insurance

Unfortunately, very few insurance plans today cover the cost of egg freezing unless it is medically necessary. For example, if you have a medical condition that may impact your fertility, such as cancer, your insurance may cover the cost of egg freezing as part of your cancer treatment. Check with your insurance provider to see if they cover egg freezing and what the requirements are.

Employer benefits

If you’re lucky enough to work at one of an employer like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, or Spotify, egg freezing may be covered. Check out the list of employers that offer egg freezing here. 

Flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA)

If your insurance doesn't cover egg freezing, you may be able to use pre-tax dollars from your FSA or HSA to pay for the procedure and medications. These accounts allow you to set aside a certain amount of money each year to pay for eligible medical expenses, including egg freezing.

Donate half your eggs (aka egg sharing)

At Cofertility, our Freeze by Co Split program allows you to freeze and store your eggs *entirely for free* for 10 years, when you give half to a family who can't otherwise conceive.

Financing

There are a growing number of financing options, such as loans or payment plans, to help patients pay for egg freezing. These options allow you to spread the cost of the procedure over several months, making it more manageable. 

Top egg freezing financing companies

If you’ve decided you want to go the loan route, you have many options to choose from. There are general lending companies as well as companies that specialize in loans just for fertility treatments. 

Ally
Ally offers fertility financing solutions to cover the cost of egg freezing.
Offering: Fill out a form to see your lending options and choose from 24-84-month loan options with annual percentage rates (APRs) starting at 3.99%.

‍FutureFamily
FutureFamily offers egg freezing loans, and they handle paying all your bills so you have just one easy payment.
Offering: Starts at $150/month* for 60 months based on your clinic, credit score, and approved egg freezing related expenses.

Lending Club 
Lending Club offers egg freezing loans that cover genetic testing, medications, and the medical procedure. They forward payment directly to the providers within three business days.
Offering: Monthly payments as low as $263/month to finance $15,000 with a 7.99% APR for 72 months.

Sunfish
‍Sunfish makes parenthood attainable for all types of families. Sunfish helps aspiring parents explore low-interest loans and financial planning tools.
Offering: Low-interest loans or lines of credit of up to $100,000, with terms ranging from two to 15 years.

What to know about taking out a loan

When taking out a loan, you’ll want to understand the terms and conditions of the loan, as well as the responsibilities that come with borrowing a large sum of money. A lot of the websites listed above will have online calculators to help you get a sense for the terms and fees you can expect. 

Loan amount: Consider how much you want to finance and whether they finance that amount. You could finance part, or all, of the egg freezing expenses. 

Loan terms: Loan terms are the length of time you have to repay the loan, and they can range from a few months to several years. Shorter loan terms generally result in higher monthly payments, while longer loan terms result in lower monthly payments but a higher total cost over the life of the loan.

Interest rates: Interest rates are the fees charged by the lender for borrowing money, and they can have a significant impact on the total cost of the loan. Find out the current interest rate being charged, and if that interest rate will stay the same or change over time. 

Loan fees: Of course, these lending groups need to make money, and they do this through loan fees. Loan fees are the additional charges associated with taking out a loan, including origination fees, application fees, late-payment fees, or prepayment penalties. You can use the annual percentage rate (APR) to compare the average yearly fee and interest-rate expenses over the term of the loan. It's important to carefully review all loan fees and to make sure you understand the total cost of the loan.

Repayment options: Repayment options are the ways in which you can pay back the loan, including monthly payments, lump sum payments, or a combination of both.

Loan security: Loan security is the collateral that you provide to the lender to secure the loan, such as a home or a car. If you fail to repay the loan, the lender may take possession of the collateral. If you're taking out a secured loan, it's important to carefully consider the risks and responsibilities associated with putting up collateral.

Finally, if you’re quoted a monthly payment, remember to look beyond the monthly payment.  Think about how long you will pay, and what fees and costs have been added. 

Other ways to pay for egg freezing

Credit cards

Of course, if you have a high limit on your credit card, you could always put the cost of the procedure and medications on your credit card, as long as you feel comfortable paying this off. Think of all those points! However, keep in mind that credit cards typically have higher interest rates than personal loans.

Savings

Maybe you’re a high earner and had scholarships to cover college tuition. Or perhaps a family member left you money. If you have the cash in your savings, you can certainly put it towards egg freezing. 

Crowdfunding

Using crowdfunding to pay for medical expenses is an increasingly popular option (thanks US healthcare system!). Crowdfunding is when you ask your friends, family, followers, and even strangers to chip in to pay for your medical expenses – usually through an app like GoFundMe. 

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee of success with a crowdfunding campaign, and you may not be able to raise enough money to cover the cost of egg freezing. 

Summing it up

Egg freezing is a powerful way to take control of your fertility, but the cost can feel overwhelming. The good news? You have options. Whether it’s through employer benefits, financing, or egg sharing programs like Split program, there are ways to make egg freezing more affordable and accessible.

If you’re considering egg freezing, take the time to explore all your options. Research clinics, compare costs, and don’t hesitate to ask questions. And if you’re open to donating half of your eggs, our Split program offers a unique opportunity to freeze your eggs for free while helping another family.

Ready to take the next step? Take our quiz to see if you’re eligible for our Split program.

If you are considering freezing your eggs, it might be helpful to talk to women on the other side of egg freezing. What was it like? How old were you when you froze your eggs? How many did you get? Did you end up needing them?

We asked a few former egg freezers these questions to share with the world. In this Q&A – you’ll hear from real women who have undergone egg freezing to get a first-hand account of what it entails and if they’d do it again. So whether you're single, in a relationship, or just curious about the process, this Q&A is for you.

The egg freezers:

• Lauren is a 43-year-old healthcare executive who froze her eggs at 36 and used them in her 40s to have two children.
• Michelle is a 40-year old tech exec who froze her eggs at 35. 
• Eliza is a 39-year old healthcare investor who froze her eggs at 34.
• Stephanie is a 39-year old non-profit fundraiser and mom of three. She froze her eggs at 35 to donate them to her sister.

How many eggs did you freeze?

Lauren: I froze 35 eggs across three egg retrievals when I was 36-38. 

Michelle: I froze 19 eggs in one retrieval when I was 35.  

Eliza: We ended up with 16 eggs and froze four embryos from one retrieval when I was 34.

Stephanie: I froze 14 eggs in one retrieval when I was 35.

Why did you freeze your eggs?

Lauren: I was recently divorced and focusing on my career and my own journey. I knew I wanted children, probably as a single mom, but wanted the flexibility to wait until I was ready. 

Michelle: As I approached my 35th birthday, the startup I was working for got acquired, so I decided that was fortuitous timing to use some of the funds to invest in my future. I wasn't ready to have kids at the time, but wanted to keep my options open. 

Eliza: I had PCOS and knew I could have trouble conceiving like some others in my family. My doctor suggested freezing embryos since I was in a relationship.

Stephanie: At the time, my younger sister had been diagnosed with a rare condition, which required major surgery and the removal of multiple large benign cysts from many of her organs, including near and on her reproductive organs. We weren't sure what the outcome would be, and I wanted her to know that even if she was unable to have children herself following the procedure, she would have my eggs waiting for her to use, ensuring that her own dna (adjacent) would be in the mix.

How would you describe the experience – both physically and emotionally?

Lauren: It was physically and emotionally draining. I ultimately went through three egg retrievals over two years. I am extremely lucky to have an incredibly supportive family (including my 96 year old grandmother!) and strong friends who encouraged and cared for me through every step of the process. It was actually beautiful to experience the love, kindness and support from so many wonderful people to help me achieve my dream.

Michelle: At the time, none of my close friends had frozen their eggs, so I did a lot of Googling and it was a little like navigating in the dark. I visited several clinics in NYC, and ended up choosing the clinic based on the doctor I felt the most comfortable with and one that guaranteed "at least 12 eggs in up to 4 cycles" for patients with a certain AMH level. To better educate and prepare myself, I created a spreadsheet to document visits, schedule, medicine dosage, etc -- and have ended up sharing this doc with multiple friends and colleagues over the years who have contemplated going through the process. The overall experience was relatively seamless for me physically (the hardest part was being home by 7PM for my shots!), and emotionally I felt empowered taking back some control over the dreaded "biological clock." 

Eliza: It was an expensive process, and I took it very seriously. I took off work (which ended up being unnecessary) and educated myself as much as possible. I was afraid of the shots at first, but got used to them quickly. The actual retrieval was a breeze, although I was constipated for a few days after!

Stephanie: I think it was definitely different than what the average egg retrieval experience is because I wasn't going into it with the emotional stress or anticipation of hoping for a child at the end. I already had two healthy children and knew I would likely have one more down the line, but I think I was aware that there wasn't as much wrapped up in for me as most people experience. Physically, it was tiring. I experienced all of the symptoms I had read about - bloating, mood swings, tiredness....It was a weird month to say the least, but it was easy to tolerate because I was confident the pay off would be there. That said, I think the fact that I already had two healthy children without any fertility challenges meant that I wasn't too worried about my egg production. I know that so many of my friends who had already gone through it had the added stress of knowing that they may not produce very many viable eggs. The retrieval itself wasn't bad, and after a day or two of rest, I felt pretty much like myself, although the bloating took a bit longer to subside. 

Did you end up needing to use the eggs to conceive? If not, what did you do with them?

Lauren: Yes! I used eggs from two different retrievals to create embryos for both of my extraordinary sons!

Michelle: I was very lucky to have conceived my son naturally at 39. I'm planning on trying to try for a second child, so I will save my eggs for that in case I need them. I'm so thankful to have that as an option!

Eliza: Yes – one of those embryos is my son!

Stephanie: The eggs are in storage as a backup plan if my sister needs them. Thankfully, it looks like they won't be needed, but until all of our families are complete, they'll hang out on ice.  

If you could go back in time, would you do it again? Why or why not?

Lauren: Absolutely 

Michelle: Absolutely would do it again. It was certainly a big investment but it was 100% worth it. I wish I could have done it a few years earlier, but I'm glad I did it when I did and that the public discourse around fertility has evolved over the years.  

Eliza: Had money not been an issue, I would have tried to freeze even more. I actually have a friend who did two rounds – one to freeze embryos and one to freeze eggs. If I could go back, that’s how I would have done it.  

Stephanie: I would do it a thousand times over. I would do anything to help my sister build a family, and knowing what the process is like, if I were in a position to consider freezing for myself (if my life story had played out on a different timeline) I would do it as well. It's a small price to pay for the peace of mind, if it's done as a preemptive measure, and an even smaller price to pay if it helps build your family.

What advice do you have for someone considering egg freezing?

Lauren: It changed my life and enabled me to become a mom on my own timeline. I would absolutely recommend it to any woman not yet in the right relationship!

Michelle: Sooner is better than later. If you think you might want to freeze your eggs, I’d go for it.

Eliza: I love the concept of Cofertility’s Split Program where you get to freeze your eggs for free in exchange for donating half of them! 

Stephanie: Get a good support system. It helps to have a friend or partner who will gladly give you a shot in the bathroom of a bar (yes, this happened!) or a coworker who cuts you a little slack for a few weeks, or sends food over the next day.  Find a clinic where you feel comfortable and cared for. Get a really comfy pair of sweatpants that you're cool wearing on repeat for a week. Remember that it is a limited time, it will be over soon, and it will be worth it.

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‍Cofertility is in the “family” business, striving to make egg freezing and third-party reproduction more human-centered and accessible for all. Our Freeze by Co program allows you to freeze your eggs for free, when you give half to a family who can't otherwise conceive

As women, we are often tasked with making complex decisions about our bodies, our health, and our future. Among the myriad of choices, one of the most significant is the decision of whether or not to freeze our eggs. But once you've made the decision and plan to go through the process, you now may be wondering, "What exactly happens to my eggs after I freeze them? Where do they go? How long can they remain frozen?"

Egg freezing, also called oocyte cryopreservation, offers a chance to focus on other stuff now while planning for your future family. But how does it work, and what happens to your precious eggs once they are safely frozen? Let's delve into this fascinating, sometimes bewildering world of fertility preservation.

The egg freezing process: a quick recap

Before we venture further, let's refresh our understanding of the egg freezing process. It starts with hormone injections that stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs. These eggs are then retrieved through a minor surgical procedure, and once retrieved, they are immediately frozen in a state-of-the-art laboratory. Following the retrieval and freezing process, your eggs are stored in a secure and carefully monitored cryo-storage facility. 

Egg freezing and preservation

Vitrification is a newer and more effective method of freezing eggs that has largely replaced older methods such as slow freezing. With vitrification, eggs are quickly frozen using a high concentration of cryoprotectants and then plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. This process creates a glass-like state that preserves the eggs in a nearly perfect condition. In fact, vitrification ensures a very high rate of survival of the eggs, typically 95% or above.

Compared to slow freezing, which can damage the eggs and reduce their viability, vitrification has a higher success rate of producing healthy embryos for later use. It has become the preferred method of egg freezing for most fertility clinics and has allowed more patients to successfully preserve their fertility.

If you have any doubts about your clinic, you can ask them what type of method they use for egg freezing. It's important to do your research and choose a reputable fertility clinic with experience in vitrification if you're considering egg freezing.

Long-term storage and monitoring

Once the eggs are frozen, they are stored in liquid nitrogen. Some clinics keep those frozen eggs stored at an onsite lab, but in most cases they are shipped to an offsite facility. As soon as you’re ready to use them, they can be safely shipped back. 

In either case, the frozen eggs' care doesn't end at storage. They are monitored regularly to ensure the liquid nitrogen levels remain constant, and the facility's temperature control and security systems are working correctly. A well-maintained facility prioritizes meticulous record-keeping, tracking the storage duration and any other pertinent details about each egg. 

Cofertility members can take advantage of our partnership with TMRW Life Sciences, a fertility technology company that has developed the world's first automated solution for storing and managing frozen eggs and embryos. 

TMRW's technology platform digitally identifies, tracks, monitors and stores patients' frozen eggs and embryos with safety, accuracy, efficiency and transparency. TMRW's platform sets a new standard of care by reducing potential points of failure by 94% compared with manual systems.

So what is TMRW doing differently? 

• Digital labeling - instead of handwritten labels, TMRW uses digital labeling and RFID tracking. With this tracking system, clinics always know exactly where your eggs and embryos are and can easily find them when you’re ready to use them.
• Automated management - instead of relying on manual processes, TMRW has a new fully-automated digital system that helps eliminate 94% of potential failure points
• Real-time inventory - TMRW has gone the extra mile by creating a 24/7 cloud-based monitoring system with real-time inventory updates to provide new levels of safety, transparency, and peace of mind. 
• Active monitoring - TMRW provides 24/7 digital monitoring (thousands of daily checks!) and expert human oversight to identify potential issues before they become a problem.

Will my eggs survive the thaw?

Several factors can impact the success of egg thawing, including your age when the eggs are frozen, the number and quality of the eggs, the technique used to freeze the eggs, and the quality of the clinic’s laboratory. 

The quality of the eggs is also a crucial factor in egg thawing. Good quality eggs have a higher chance of survival and fertilization. However, even with good quality eggs, there is no guarantee of success, and the process may need to be repeated to achieve pregnancy.

If and when you decide to use them

When you decide the time is right to use your frozen eggs, just let the storage company know you are ready and they will ship them to your fertility clinic. Remember, if you freeze your eggs with Cofertility you get 10 years of free storage and can get your eggs at any time. From the time your eggs are retrieved they belong only to you. You have the rights to get them from storage directly, and you don’t need to inform the Cofertility team (although we always love hearing from our Split Members!). 

Once the eggs arrive at your fertility clinic, they are thawed in the lab using a warming solution. The eggs will then need to be fertilized with sperm and grown into embryos. The surviving eggs are then fertilized using a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is injected directly into each egg.

After fertilization, the resulting embryos are monitored for a few days as they begin to develop. The most viable embryos are then transferred to your uterus in a procedure similar to a pap smear. If successful, the embryo implants in your uterus and grows, leading to pregnancy.

Generally, the younger you are when freezing your eggs, the better the chances of success. Eggs frozen in your late 20s or early 30s have a higher chance of survival and successful fertilization compared to those frozen in your late 30s or 40s.

If you froze your eggs as part of our Split Program

If you are a Split Member, the cost of the egg retrieval and 10 years of storage is completely covered. However, you are responsible for the cost of moving the eggs out of storage and having them fertilized and transferred. These costs vary greatly across the country, but generally you can expect:

• Shipping your eggs to your clinic: varies by distance and facility, generally $500–$1,000
• Fertilization and embryo culture with (ICSI): $5,000-7,500
• Embryo transfer procedure:$3,000–$6,000
• Medication and monitoring: can vary widely, often an additional $3,000-5,000

Read more in: Split Member Guide: What To Do When You’re Ready To Use Your Frozen Eggs

If you decide NOT to use them

What if, down the line, you decide not to use your eggs, or you have more than you need? 

One study of egg freezing patients at UCSF found that 89% believed they would be glad they froze their eggs, even if they never used them to conceive a child. So if you don't end up needing your frozen eggs down the line, there are a few options for what to do with them.

• Keep them in storage. Most storage facilities offer long-term storage options (our partnership with TMRW includes plans up to 10-years long), allowing you to keep your eggs frozen for as many years as  necessary. This may be a good option if you're not yet ready to use the eggs but want to keep them as a backup plan.
• Donate the eggs to someone else who may need them. Egg donation is a process of donating eggs to another person or couple who needs them, such as LGBTQ+ families or those suffering from infertility. This can be a wonderful gift for those who may not be able to have a child otherwise. If you go through our Split program, you will have already been cleared as a donor and can easily donate these additional eggs. If you’re not part of the Split program but think you may be interested in this down the line, talk to your doctor as they may be able to do some additional donor-related screening during your egg freezing process. 
• Dispose of them.  If you decide that you no longer need your frozen eggs and don't want to continue storing them or donate them, simply request that they are disposed of by the clinic or storage facility.
• Donate to science. Many research studies rely on donated eggs to investigate new techniques and treatments for infertility. Ask your clinic if this is an option.

Emotional considerations

Aside from the practical aspects, it's important to acknowledge the emotional journey involved in egg freezing. It's normal to feel a mix of emotions – relief, hope, anxiety, or even sadness. Know that these feelings are common and valid. Don't hesitate to seek support, be it from a trusted friend, family member, a professional counselor, or the Cofertility community.

Summing it up

The journey of your eggs from freezing to potential future use is complex and exciting, underscored by sophisticated science and meticulous care. Deciding to freeze your eggs can be an empowering choice, giving you autonomy over your fertility and future family planning. Knowing what happens to your eggs after freezing them can provide comfort and clarity as you navigate your fertility journey.

In the end, egg freezing is an investment in your future, offering an opportunity to expand your family when the time is right for you. It's a testament to the advancements in reproductive science and a tool for you to take control of your fertility. Trust in the process, seek support when needed, and above all, know that your choices are valid, and your feelings are heard. After all, the journey to parenthood, in whatever form it takes, is a voyage of hope, love, and extraordinary potential.

If you’re ready to freeze your eggs, we’re here to help. Reach out or learn more about our Freeze program.

Read more:

• Egg Freezing: How Long Can My Eggs Be Stored?
• Egg Freezing Thaw Rates
• When Should I Freeze My Eggs?
• What To Do When You’re Ready To Use Your Frozen Eggs

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More people than ever are thinking about preserving their fertility for the future. But what’s the difference between freezing eggs and freezing embryos? More importantly, which is the better option for you?

While both procedures have given people more choice around when they have children and how they conceive them, they’re not the same and there’s plenty to think about when trying to choose one over the other.

What’s the difference?

There’s one major difference between freezing eggs and freezing embryos. When you freeze your eggs, they stay unfertilized. We all know that to make a baby, you need an egg and a sperm because each of them provides half of the material needed. On its own, an egg can’t function (and neither can a sperm).

An embryo, on the other hand, is an egg that has already been fertilized by a sperm. Once they combine, the egg and sperm become a single cell. Over the next three to four days, the embryo divides several times, going from one to two to four to eight cells, and so on until it reaches the blastocyst stage and is ready to be frozen. Once an embryo has developed, there’s no going back– that is, there’s no way to turn that embryo back into a separate egg and sperm. 

Things to consider

So how does this information help you figure out whether to freeze eggs or embryos? Well, there are two big factors to consider: your circumstances and the research.

If you don’t know who you want to have children with, then freezing your eggs may be the best approach. This option gives you the freedom to hold off on thinking about having a baby until you’ve met someone or are ready to choose a sperm donor. 

On the other hand, if you are currently with a partner who you know you’d like to have children with but now isn’t the right time, then freezing embryos might be the way to go. The caveat here is to be 100% certain—stars like Sofia Vergara and more recently, Anna Kendrick, have run into trouble after freezing embryos with partners they didn’t end up with. 

Now, let’s look at the research.

Is freezing embryos really better?

The short answer here is not necessarily. The long answer is that each case is unique so whether freezing embryos or eggs is the better option for you will depend on your specific situation and what your labs, imaging, and other health information suggest. 

With that in mind, let’s break down the pros and cons of each method.  

Pros and cons of freezing eggs vs embryos

Freezing/thawing process

Historically, embryos have been “tougher” than eggs and therefore, easier to freeze and thaw. Freezing eggs was much more of a gamble since they’re large cells with a lot of water inside. That water can turn into ice crystals during freezing which, in turn, can damage the chromosomes in the eggs and make them unusable.

But it’s not all gloom and doom for egg freezers! Researchers have continued to study the technology and the statistics have changed as newer and better freezing technologies have emerged. Nowadays, an excellent lab can expect 97% of the eggs that they freeze to survive compared to 95% for embryos. 

But, let’s be clear, these numbers don’t mean that your chances of a successful live birth are 3% higher with frozen eggs, it just means that they are a little more likely to make it to the next phase of IVF. The higher the quality of your frozen eggs (i.e. if you freeze your eggs relatively young and maintain a healthy lifestyle), the more likely they will have thaw rates that are just as good (if not higher) than that of embryos.

Quality

A major weakness of egg freezing is that there is no way to test the quality of eggs on their own–they still have to make it through the thawing process, fertilization, and develop into a healthy embryo that can be implanted into the uterus (not all of them make it this far).

This can lead to a situation where someone uses their eggs years after freezing them and those eggs don’t perform as well as they thought they would. By then, this person is older so their egg quality has declined even more. Not having that quality information upfront can make it hard to judge how many eggs need to be frozen to lead to an actual baby.

In contrast, embryos have to get past several important hurdles that give fertility specialists a much better sense of their quality and the chances of a baby later. That’s because turning eggs into embryos requires that they be successfully fertilized and that those embryos survive up to a point where they can be frozen (usually the blastocyst stage, around day 5 of development). 

In addition, embryos are graded at each point in their development based on an embryologist’s opinion of whether they are high quality or not (embryologists are experts who study the development of embryos). 

Finally, you have the option to run a genetic screening test on embryos, which can help more accurately predict whether they’re likely to become healthy babies. Research has shown that preimplantation genetic screening can result in lower miscarriage rates and higher live birth rates per embryo transfer. There is no such test for frozen eggs. 

Chances of a healthy baby down the line

Recent studies comparing the likelihood of actual babies being born, known as the live birth rate (LBR), have shown that it’s now pretty even whether you’re freezing eggs or embryos. Before this, the LBR with frozen eggs was quoted at about 50% the LBR of frozen embryos. 

A study published in May 2022 provides even more evidence to support this. The study, done at NYU, is the largest U.S. report of elective fertility preservation outcomes to date and is based on 15 years of real-life frozen egg thaw outcomes for people who had delayed having children and had natural, age-related fertility decline.

On average, study participants were 38 years old at the time they froze their first set of eggs. The study found that regardless of age, those who thawed at least 20 mature eggs had a 58% LBR. This was unexpected given that so many of the participants were past the optimal age to freeze eggs (35 years old or younger). People under 38 years old who thawed 20 or more mature eggs had a 70% LBR per patient. The length of frozen egg storage did not change the success rate.

Additionally, the study found that 39% of people between 27 and 44 years old (most were between 35 and 40 when they froze their eggs) had at least one child from their frozen eggs, which is comparable with age-matched in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Researchers also found that many of the participants studied had more than one child through egg freezing. 

When compared to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from the nation’s nearly 500 fertility clinics on people trying to conceive at age 40 using fresh eggs or embryos, only 30% who underwent IVF became pregnant and the LBR was less than 20%.

The final conclusion? For those starting families later, egg freezing and thawing at a later date provides a higher pregnancy success rate than using fresh embryos during assisted reproductive technology.

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*One important point the researchers make about their study is that it was limited by the number of patients. More studies need to be done in the future that include people from a variety of geographic locations and center types. 

Cost

Last, but certainly not least, is the financial side of this. Is embryo freezing more expensive than egg freezing?

Honestly, yes. The upfront cost of egg freezing is definitely less than that of embryo freezing (which requires in vitro fertilization before freezing). While egg freezing costs upward of  $10,000 on average, creating and freezing embryos can add a few more thousand dollars to that bill. If you’re freezing embryos using a sperm donor, the sperm can add a further $300 to $4,000, depending on several factors. In both cases, you will also need to pay an annual fee to store your eggs or embryos until you use them. This can cost anywhere from $500-$1000 per year, depending on the clinic you use. 

Depending on the type of medical coverage you have, your insurance may cover some of these costs, so make sure you reach out and see what support you can receive from them. Many clinics also offer financial plans and other forms of support so always ask!

TL;DR: Freezing eggs comes with a lower upfront price tag which makes it an easier and more accessible choice than embryo freezing, allowing more people to preserve their future options. 

Additional Resources

Both the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and experts at Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed calculators for assessing a person’s chances of success with artificial reproductive technology (ART). The CDC IVF Success Estimator helps estimate the chances of a live birth with IVF while the BWH Egg Freezing Counseling Tool helps to estimate the chances of at least 1 live birth based on your age and number of frozen eggs.  

What do I ask my provider?

Use your health care provider as a support and resource. They should be able to answer any of your questions. Not sure what to ask? Here are a few questions to help you get started: 

• How many eggs or embryos do you recommend I freeze, at my current age, to have the highest percentage chance of a live birth later on?
• How many treatment cycles will I need to do to get to this number? It’s totally normal to need more than 1 cycle, but it’s nice to know what to expect ahead of time. 
• What is this lab’s rate of successful freezing and thawing of eggs vs embryos (“oocyte cryosurvival rate” is the medical term)? Are they closer to minimal or maximum competency?
• How much would each cycle cost? 
• Are there any financial support options, plans, or advice? 
• What are the health risks? What about common side effects? 
• Is there an upper age limit for using my eggs or embryos in the future? 
• How long can I store them and how much will it cost per year?

Do You!

At the end of the day, there’s no universal rule around the best approach to preserving fertility. Family planning is going to look different for every person so you need to do what’s right for you. When you’re ready, talking to a fertility specialist can help you make up your mind. 

In the meantime, Freeze by Co is here to help you every step of the way on that journey. Our Split program allows those who qualify to freeze their eggs for free! In a “Split” cycle, you donate half of the eggs retrieved to a family that’s trying to conceive and freeze the remaining half for yourself. Or, if you don’t want to donate, you can still participate in the Keep program, where you’re able to freeze your eggs and keep them all for yourself, on your timeline. In addition, you’ll have access to our online support community. This valuable resource lets you engage with other people freezing their eggs at the same time! 

Whatever you end up choosing for yourself, our team is here to guide you through it and keep your options open.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Sex Lives of College Girls.

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At Cofertility, we are so thrilled that conversations about reproductive health are making their way into the limelight. From Jennifer Aniston opening up about how she wishes she froze her eggs at a younger age, to the latest season of The Sex Lives of College Girls, where Kimberly decides to donate (or as she refers to it, “sell”) her eggs in order to pay her college tuition, we love to see women becoming more educated on their fertility.

Our team has been watching this season obsessively (and spending way too much time talking about it during our daily meetings), and are overall so appreciative of how Kimberly’s donation journey was portrayed. Creators Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble have taken what has been traditionally portrayed as an overly-clinical, overwhelming process and humanized it — showing the reality of what egg freezing or donation cycles can look like for the modern woman. Here are just some of our team’s favorite aspects of the portrayal of Kimberly’s journey:

You don’t have to put your life on pause.

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The process of donating (or freezing) your eggs involves a medical procedure and should be taken seriously, but as Kimberly shows us (with the help of her roommate, Leighton) in Season 2 Ep. 5, that doesn’t mean you have to put your entire life on hold. 

While there are some things you’ll have to avoid, such as heavy exercise, alcohol, and sex, you won’t be pinned to your couch for three weeks while you prepare for your retrieval. You’ll need to stay local to your clinic for your monitoring appointments, but other than that, keep doing you.

Overall, the medical process of donating your eggs is the same process as freezing your eggs. If you’re curious to learn more about what that looks like, (and even how you can freeze your eggs for free when you donate half) we’ve got you covered.

Egg banks often target women in tough financial situations

Kimberly first learns about “selling” her eggs after getting denied a student loan that she desperately needed. If the thought of this gives you the ick—you’re not alone.

It’s true that the egg donation industry has historically targeted individuals in poor financial situations, and we wholeheartedly agree with the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)’s stance that financial compensation for egg donation opens the door for exploitation.

Additionally, $80K for a single cycle is a pretty unrealistic expectation, given that the average compensation is more like $3,500 - $5,000 per cycle. 

However, women who donate their eggs are truly giving intended parents the invaluable opportunity to fulfill their family-building dreams, and that deserves to be recognized. That’s why we created our Split program, which eliminates the icky-ness of financial compensation by instead giving our members the opportunity to freeze their eggs for free for their own reproductive future when they give half of the retrieved eggs to another family that can’t otherwise conceive.

Your squad is everything

Though going through an egg retrieval is considered a low-risk procedure, it’s not something that you should feel like you’re doing alone. On the day of your retrieval appointment, you’ll need to bring a companion with you since you’ll be put under anesthesia, but as we saw in The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 2 Episode 5, having your crew on deck for emotional support makes all the difference in making sure you feel empowered through this epic journey. 

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It’s more than just “selling your eggs”

Donating your eggs is a huge decision—one that goes far beyond a bank deposit after the fact. When you donate your eggs, you’re not just donating your eggs, you’re donating genetic material that will someday be used to bring a new life into this world, so there’s a lot to be considered.

To quote straight from Kimberly’s pro-con list, the possibility that you’ll “run into future kids at a shopping mall” may sound crazy, but it hints at the reality that we live in a world where anyone can walk into their local pharmacy and purchase a DNA test off the shelf for less than $100, and there is really no such thing as a truly anonymous egg donation experience.

At Cofertility, we take a firm stance in our belief that anonymous egg donation is wrong. We have invested in consulting with the donor-conceived community and truly believe that disclosed relationships are in the best interest of all parties involved, especially the donor-conceived children. So if you’re considering donating your eggs, make sure to keep in mind that the child or children conceived from those eggs may want to reach out to you in the future.

Additionally, Kimberly’s pro of “a cute gay couple uses my eggs” is one that is definitely within the realm of possibility, and one that we wholeheartedly support. The way we build families is more dynamic than ever, and at Cofertility, we work with countless LGBTQ+ intended parents to help make their family-building dreams a reality. If you’ve ever considered donating your eggs to a gay couple who needs them, this is a great way to do that.

Summary

At Cofertility, we’re on a mission to make the process of donating and freezing your eggs more accessible, human-centric, and supported. If you’re thinking about this as an option for yourself, we want you to know that we’re here for you. To see if you qualify for our Split program, where you can donate your eggs while freezing half of the retrieved eggs for your own future use, click here to take our free, two-minute quiz.

Intro 

If you're thinking about freezing your eggs and you've started to gather information about it, you're probably coming across a lot of information. This can definitely be overwhelming but there’s no need to panic! We're here to help you figure out if egg freezing is the right choice for you, no matter what age you are.

What is egg freezing?

Before we dive further into this topic, what is egg freezing? Egg freezing, known as oocyte cryopreservation in the medical world, is a technique used to preserve someone’s fertility.  Eggs are collected from the ovaries and frozen so they can be used in the future. If the person is unable to get pregnant naturally, the eggs are unfrozen and used in an assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure, like in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Whether you know you want to have kids or you aren’t sure and want to give yourself more time to figure it out, think of egg freezing as a way to keep your options open for the future.

Should I freeze my eggs?

There are many, many reasons why someone might choose to freeze their eggs but the decision is a deeply personal one that requires some careful consideration. When making that decision though, it’s important to know that egg freezing is not an “insurance policy” for your fertility. While egg freezing can take some of the stress of having a baby right now off your shoulders, it is not a guarantee that you’ll have a baby in the future. 

Why not? Well, not all the eggs that get frozen will actually be viable. It’s expected that some eggs will not survive the warming process. In addition, the chances of the eggs that do survive being successfully fertilized depends partially on how old you were when you froze them (more on this later). Beyond that, fertility and pregnancy risks change with age. If you freeze your eggs at 30 and use them when you're 40, you'll have to deal with the realities of pregnancy at 40.

This is not to sway your decision one way or another. Ultimately, only you and your doctor can decide if egg freezing is the right decision for you. But it's important to go in knowing that it’s not meant to be a done deal.

Pros of egg freezing

Ok, now that we’ve gone through the basics, let’s discuss the pros and cons.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of freezing your eggs is the fact that it lowers the risk of having children with genetic abnormalities associated with ovarian aneuploidy. Ovarian aneuploidy refers to when an egg has an abnormal number of chromosomes which leads to an abnormal pregnancy. Most people are born with 46 total chromosomes (23 pairs). The most common aneuploidy risk seen by far is Down syndrome. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes, chromosome 21. The medical term for having an extra copy of a chromosome is “trisomy” so Down syndrome is also known as Trisomy 21. Freezing your eggs at a younger age decreases (but does not totally eliminate) the risk of an abnormal number of chromosomes.

Another benefit of egg freezing is that it puts the decision-making power entirely in your hands. Whether you’re freezing your eggs because you want to focus on your career or you’re getting a medical treatment that may affect your fertility later on or you’re waiting to find the right partner, freezing your eggs allows you to preserve some of your fertility independently. 

Egg freezing also gives you options in terms of having your own biological children. Of course, there is the obvious option of having the eggs fertilized and the embryos implanted into your uterus. But you also have the option of having those embryos implanted into a gestational carrier or into your partner if they have uterus. 

Finally, freezing your eggs does not affect your ability to get pregnant naturally. The egg freezing process and retrieval procedure simply rescue eggs that would have died with your next menstrual cycle. This means it does not affect your ovarian reserve (the number of eggs in your ovaries). Once you’ve completed the full process, your body will continue to ovulate and release an egg each month like normal.  

Cons of egg freezing

Now, let’s talk about the disadvantages of egg freezing. 

The most obvious downside is the cost. While some insurance plans may cover egg freezing, this isn’t the case most of the time. The out-of-pocket cost of egg freezing varies but it can be up to $20,000 depending on where you are and which clinic you use. This typically includes bloodwork, medications, ultrasounds, and the egg retrieval procedure. This does not include the annual storage fee (which can be up to $800 per year) and any follow-up procedures if you end up using those eggs. Learn how you can freeze for free with Freeze by Co. 

The next thing to consider is the hormone medications and egg retrieval process themselves. These medicines not only require injecting yourself (or having a partner or friend do it) but they can have some not-so-fun side effects. These can include fatigue, nausea, bloating, headaches, abdominal pain, breast tenderness, and irritability. A severe risk of hormone medications is ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This condition can lead to blood clots, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, dehydration and vomiting. It may even require admission to the hospital to manage. Thankfully, OHSS is rare nowadays, affecting only up to 2% of patients.

The egg retrieval process is quick and the most common symptoms afterwards are pelvic or abdominal pain, constipation, bloating, and spotting. The main concern here is the time you need. One typical egg-freezing cycle can range from 10 to 14 days and during that time you'll be attending doctor appointments almost daily to make sure your eggs are maturing correctly.

If you’re taking any gender-affirming hormones like testosterone, you may need to take a break in order to freeze your eggs. One study showed that transgender men who used gender-affirming hormones and stopped a few months before fertility treatments ended up with the same number of eggs as cis women. But getting off hormones can be hard and could trigger gender dysphoria so the best option is to freeze eggs before transitioning if at all possible.

No one likes to be the bearer of bad news but this is an important one. Egg freezing may mean your eggs stay the same age forever but unfortunately, your body does not. As you age, the risks of pregnancy increase for both you and your potential child. These risks include gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, c-section delivery, preterm delivery of a baby with low birth weight and other risks related to the pregnancy being IVF. However, these risks vary widely depending on many other factors. 

One final caveat to remember is that egg freezing does not guarantee a live birth. It’s likely that not all eggs will survive the thawing process. Some will not fertilize. Others fertilize abnormally, and still others don’t implant successfully in the uterus. A large study at NYU in July 2022 showed a 39% live birth rate for people who used their frozen eggs. The two factors that affected the success rates the most were age at the time of egg freezing and the number of eggs thawed. Specifically, the live birth rate was over 50% for people who thawed at least 20 eggs or who were under 38 when they froze their eggs. Which brings us to our next question: what age is best for egg freezing? 

When should I freeze my eggs? 

Let me start by saying that there is no perfect age at which to freeze your eggs. However, the TL;DR is that the younger you can do it, the better. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), an optimal time to freeze your eggs is in your 20s and early 30s, while you have a higher ovarian reserve and eggs are healthier. So whether you’re 25 or 35, you can absolutely freeze your eggs!

A large 2020 study at a fertility clinic that specializes in this area looked at egg freezing cycles for over 1,200 people. It compared the average number of eggs people of different ages were able to freeze versus the “optimal” or goal number of eggs they should freeze. This goal number was based on how many eggs would give them a 70% live birth rate after doing 1 or 2 egg freezing cycles (this rate is calculated using some other numbers and it typically goes up as we age to make up for the lower number of healthy eggs). 

The study found that younger people, unsurprisingly, have an easier time freezing the goal number of eggs in one cycle. As people aged, they needed multiple egg freezing cycles to reach that goal number.

These findings bring up a common question–is it worth freezing eggs after age 35? Well, it depends. The ASRM does not recommend egg freezing for people older than 38, but this isn’t a strict cutoff. Everyone’s fertility goes down at a different rate. Having your fertility hormones checked can sometimes help you and your doctor get a general idea of what your ovarian reserve is. This can better help you decide if egg freezing is right for you.

Egg freezing can be a tricky process to navigate and you are not alone when it comes to questions and concerns around it. Freeze by Co is here to help you every step of the way. With our Split program, people between 21 to 34 years old have the chance to freeze their eggs for free! In a “Split” cycle, you would donate half of the eggs retrieved to a family that’s trying to conceive and freeze the remaining half for yourself. If you’re over 34, you can still participate in the Keep program up to age 40. You would be able to freeze your eggs and keep them all for yourself, on your timeline while having access to an additional valuable resource in our support community, The Nest. This community allows you to engage with other people freezing their eggs at the exact same time! 

Regardless of which path you choose, our team will be there to guide you through the process as we work to keep your family-building options on the table.

You might have heard at some point that freezing your eggs can help you preserve your fertility options for your long term future. But just how many eggs should you freeze? Is there an optimal number for egg freezing?

Let’s take a look at how many eggs you can expect to get during the retrieval process and how many eggs you should be freezing for fertility preservation. 

How many eggs do I have?

Before we talk about the number of eggs you should freeze during oocyte cryopreservation — more commonly known as freezing your eggs — we should probably talk about how many eggs are in your ovaries right now. 

Your fertility doctor may have mentioned the term ovarian reserve a few times. When they do that, they’re talking about the number of eggs in your body. But how many eggs are in that reserve?

There is no exact answer here. On average, women are born with anywhere from one to two million eggs. Some women are born with more. Some women are born with less. 

It may sound like a lot either way, but most of the eggs we’re born with don’t stick around. By the time most of us hit adolescence,we have about 300,000 eggs left. From there, the number of eggs in the body naturally decreases by about 1,000 every year, and the decline becomes more rapid after age 35.  

That’s where egg freezing comes into play. The doctors of the Association of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) states that planned oocyte preservation is “ethically permissible” because it provides women with more autonomy over their reproductive choices. 

Doctors can get a sense of how large your ovarian reserve is before egg freezing by testing the level of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in your body. This test looks at both your ovarian reserve and how well your body may or may not respond to medications that will stimulate the ovaries. What it can’t determine, however, is the quality of those eggs. And ultimately, you need both quantity and quality.

How many eggs do I need to freeze?

OK, so you may have a lot of eggs in your ovarian reserve — or maybe not. But how many do you actually need to freeze?

This answer varies from person to person and depends on a few individual factors:

• How old are you right now?
• Do you plan to freeze all of your eggs or do you hope to also donate some to help intended parents grow their family? 
• If you think you may want to have children one day, how many do you have in mind?

This list presents a lot to think about, so let’s dive a little deeper to help you make informed decisions about the number of eggs you freeze. 

The right number of eggs to freeze for your age

Different folks have different reasons for freezing their eggs. Some may be thinking about prolonging their fertility into the future. Others may be freezing some eggs but also hoping to donate some eggs to help others grow a family — something that’s done via our Split program, where you freeze for free when donating half of the eggs to a family that can’t otherwise conceive. 

Either way, studies have found that the optimal number of eggs to freeze really comes down to your age. That’s because the number of eggs in the body isn’t the only thing to decrease as you get older — egg quality decreases too, and egg quality is the number one factor in determining whether an egg can eventually result in a live birth. 

Here are the number of eggs you’ll want to freeze based on your age in order to obtain an optimal live birth rate:

How many eggs are retrieved?

For  egg donors aged 25-29, the average number of eggs retrieved is 18, and that number drops to 16 for people age 30-35 — although it varies from person to person.

Your reproductive endocrinologist will be able to tell you the day of your retrieval how many eggs were retrieved. This number will include both mature and immature eggs, so it’s not necessarily the total number of eggs that can be frozen. 

Immature Eggs

• May be partially or completely damaged or have its quality compromised in some way
• Lower chance of fertilization

Mature Eggs

• Have good egg quality
• Are more likely to be fertilized
• Can be frozen

After your retrieval, all of your eggs will be sent to an incubator to check maturity. The lab technicians will look for eggs to achieve meiosis, a kind of cell division that occurs in egg cells. 

The eggs that achieve meiosis will be frozen, and you will be notified of the total number. 

Should I do multiple egg retrievals?

What happens if you don’t get as many eggs as you had hoped during your egg retrieval cycle? 

If you’ve undergone one round of egg freezing and the number of eggs your reproductive endocrinologist retrieved from your ovaries wasn’t as high as you’d hoped, you may want to talk to them about trying again. 

There is technically no limit to the number of egg freezing rounds a person can undergo, but it’s not recommended that egg donors undergo more than six cycles. If you’re hoping to split your eggs with intended parents (donating half of the eggs retrieved) as part of our Split Program, you may find that additional retrievals help you provide the optimal amount of eggs for a live birth for you and for the intentend parents too. 

Of course, you should talk to your doctor about any risks or benefits that come with additional rounds. 

The right number of eggs to freeze to have multiple children

If you’re planning to have a big family one day, you may want to look at the number of eggs it’s recommended you freeze to achieve one live birth and talk to your doctor about freezing more eggs. 

For example, the studies show that a woman under age 35 will need to freeze about nine eggs to achieve a 70% chance of a live birth. If you’re under age 35 now and thinking you might want to use frozen eggs to conceive twice in your future, you will want to freeze closer to 18 eggs to achieve that 70% chance each time. 

That number will increase with each number of children you foresee — provided your expectation is that each child will be conceived with the use of the eggs you are currently freezing. 

Bottom line

There is no “magic number” when it comes to freezing your eggs. Your age, your future plans, and more all come into play. 

We’re here to answer any questions you might have, and the Cofertility community is also here to lend support as you consider all the important factors to make the choice that is right for you.

It may not come as a surprise to learn that the prime time for freezing your eggs is actually a lot earlier than you think. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG), freezing your eggs while you’re still in your 20s can help boost your chances of a successful pregnancy—and a 2010 report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that those eggs have a higher chance at resulting in a live birth no matter your age when you decide to start your family. 

For many women, that means the best time to freeze their eggs is likely the moment they start wondering when they should start. Read on to see what you need to know about why freezing your eggs before you’re even sure what you want to do with them is the best way to ensure you’ll be able to make the decision for yourself when the time is right. 

Your body produces a different number of eggs at different times

Your late 20s and early to mid-30s are considered the peak time to retrieve eggs—with a 2015 study from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine saying you’ll see the best results prior to the age of 34 — because your body has reached complete development and your eggs are at their most healthy and plentiful point.

That doesn’t mean that the quality of your eggs takes a major dip when you celebrate your 38th birthday. Instead, it means that as you add more and more candles to your birthday cake each year your body begins to produce fewer eggs. This becomes important when you realize how many eggs you’ll need to retrieve when you begin the process of freezing your eggs.  

Take the 2020 study from Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART) that showed women under the age of 35 were retrieving an average of 21 eggs during their first round of egg freezing while women between the ages of 35-37 were retrieving an average of 17. Four eggs may not seem like that big of a difference at first, but once you take into account how many eggs experts say you should have on hand when it comes time to start fertilization you’ll begin to realize just how quickly those numbers add up. 

Producing fewer eggs may increase costs

The saying less is more doesn’t apply too much in the world of fertility, where your chances of going on to have a live birth increase based on the number of eggs you have on hand when it comes time to fertilize and implant them. 

That 2020 ART study that showed the average number of eggs retrieved each cycle also showed that if you're under the age of 35 you will need 9 eggs for a 70% chance at having a baby. However, if you’re looking to hit that same 70% mark in your later years (think 38-40), you’ll need closer to 18 eggs to have the same chances at a live birth. With women in that age range only averaging 17 eggs per retrieval, that may mean multiple cycles, and with a $10,000-20,000 price tag that can quickly add up.

The best time to freeze your eggs is, unfortunately, usually before you can afford it

Not many people have that much money readily available in their 20s, which is why egg freezing is often financially out of reach for those who would benefit most from it. With programs like Freeze by Co you can take advantage of those peak fertility years even if you can’t exactly swing the costs. 

One program offered by Freeze by Co is Split. Split Members benefit by offsetting the cost of freezing their eggs by donating half of them to a family that cannot otherwise conceive. Split Members match with intended parents, and undergo an egg freezing cycle where half of their eggs are donated to the perfect intended parents (after testing and meeting qualifications, of course). The other half are then stored (for free) for the split member for up to 10 years. 

If you’d rather hold onto all your eggs until you’ve decided what your fertility future holds, you can use Freeze by Co’s Keep Member plan. These members can still benefit from lower costs, thanks to things like reduced medication fees, consultation discounts, and more. 

This is the most cost-effective age to freeze your eggs

With all these numbers flying around you may be wondering where the health benefits and the financial benefits meet. According to a 2015 study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, the two numbers seem to cross paths at the age of 35.

Women who freeze their eggs at 35 for use by the age of 40 spend an estimated $15,000 less than those who are trying to have a baby at 40. And that’s not the only good news, that math seems to hold up all the way until the age of 38. 

Freezing your eggs should be a positive experience

With the accessibility Cofertility gives women to take control of their fertility process, you can feel empowered to make decisions based on what’s in the best interest for you and your body without having to worry about your bank account. 

Getting an earlier start at freezing your eggs through Freeze by Co (even if you don’t have a partner or aren’t even sure that your dream future includes children yet) will: 

• Give you a higher chance at eventually achieving a live birth even if you wait until your late 30s or early 40s.
• Allow you to wait on making major decisions about your education, career, and future until you’re ready.
• Offer you the freedom to make medical decisions based on what’s right for you instead of what type of coverage your employer offers at the time. 
• Provide peace of mind because no matter what your future family may look like you’ve already taken the first step to making your dreams a reality. 

Even if you’ve missed that peak window into your fertility there are still plenty of benefits to freezing your eggs. With all of the new plans offered by Freeze by Co you’re likely to find one that will fit your current needs while giving you a chance to plan for your future.

Many folks who have made the big (and exciting) decision to freeze their eggs want to improve their egg quality before freezing. But is egg quality really something you can control? What kinds of lifestyle changes should you make before freezing your eggs? Read on for a look at what the research says about egg quality — and what you can do to improve it before the egg freezing process begins. 

What is egg quality?

As you’ve been exploring the egg freezing process, you may have heard your fertility doctor mention that freezing during your 20s can be beneficial because your egg quality will likely be higher. 

It’s annoying, but true: as women age, our egg quality typically goes down further and further. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) estimates a woman’s chances of getting pregnant begin to decrease at age 32 and continue to gradually go down until about age 37 when the decrease becomes more rapid. ACOG links this decrease in what they call fecundity — another word for fertility — to egg quality. 

This is one of the many reasons Freeze by Co partners with local fertility clinics to create opportunities for women in their 20s to freeze eggs more affordably. We want you to have more control over your reproductive choices, even if you’re not looking to get pregnant during this peak egg quality period.

But what does “egg quality” (also called oocyte competence) actually mean? Are doctors being a tad judgmental about a woman’s age? Not at all. 

When fertility specialists use this term, they’re referring to whether your eggs are considered genetically normal or abnormal, and it’s tied pretty closely to the chances that an egg could ever result in pregnancy.  

Euploid vs. aneuploid embryos 

While sperm health is undeniably important, it all starts with the egg. The quality of embryos made from your eggs comes down to two different types:

• Euploid embryos 

• These embryos are genetically “normal.” 
• They contain the right number of chromosomes at 46. 

• Aneuploid embryos

• These embryos are genetically “abnormal.” 
• They contain either fewer or more chromosomes than normal. 
• Embryos created with a low quality egg may inherit either too many or too few chromosomes. 
• Most aneuploid embryos will either fail to implant or result in miscarriage as they are usually not compatible with life. 

There’s also a significantly higher risk that an aneuploid embryo will not implant in the uterus after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) transfer — one study found as much as 96 percent of abnormal embryos transferred into the uterus did not implant. On the other hand, that same study found when euploid embryos were transferred, the pregnancy rate was 82 percent. 

Do I need to improve my egg quality before freezing? 

So if euploid embryos start with healthy eggs, you’re probably wondering: do I need to improve my egg quality before freezing? 

Some factors that affect egg quality such as your personal genetics and the passing of time can’t be controlled. But there are ample steps you can take to influence the health and quality of your eggs. 

Here are some simple changes that research shows may improve egg quality. We recommend you consider making these changes at least three months prior to egg freezing: 

1. Quit smoking 

If you’re using cigarettes, now is a good time to stop. Studies have found that smoking can have a detrimental effect on fertility. Puffing on cigarettes can increase the risk of infertility by as much as 60 percent with negative effects on the menstrual cycle, uterus, and ovaries. It’s the effect on the ovaries that is particularly troubling when it comes to egg quality with smoking damaging the DNA of the eggs themselves. 

2. Avoid marijuana

Although there aren’t a lot of studies on the effect of marijuana on fertility, those that exist indicate THC — the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — can result in an impaired ability to produce viable embryos. According to a study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society in 2020, the exposure of oocytes to THC was linked to a “significant decrease in the expression of genes called connexins.” These connexins are an important marker of egg quality. For our Split members, we require them to stop using marijuana products at least one month prior to retrieval.

3. Improve your diet

There is never a bad time to eat a healthy diet, and if you’re planning to freeze your eggs in the near future there are extra reasons to make smart choices at meal time. Eating a diet rich in leafy greens, whole grains, and lean proteins can all help those egg cells. 

Here are some rock star foods you might want to consider adding to your diet when you’ve got an eye on improving egg quality (plus the benefits they bring):

• Fish such as salmon, mackerel, and trout — Omega 3 fatty acids
• Egg yolks — Vitamin D
• Beans, oats, oranges, and cantaloupe — Inositol
• Fruits and veggies of any kind — Antioxidants
• Oysters, beef, chickpeas, lentils, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and pine nuts — Zinc

Before embarking on any major diet changes, check with a registered dietician. They can help you craft a plan that’s just right for your body. 

4. Talk to your doctor about supplements

If you’re not already taking vitamins, you may want to chat with your reproductive endocrinologist about whether you should add Vitamin A, Vitamin B, folate and zinc — or maybe one of the four — to your daily routine. Studies have linked all three of these micronutrients to egg quality over the years, affecting the synthesis of DNA and other factors in oocyte development. 

Your doctor may want to check your vitamin D level with some bloodwork or go over your current vitamin regimen before deciding if adding on additional supplements is necessary. Make sure to bring any dietary changes you’re making into the conversation too — there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to some vitamins!

5. Talk to your doctor about your weight 

Being told you need to hop on the scale when you’re at the reproductive endocrinologist’s office can be frustrating, especially if you’ve struggled to lose or gain weight in the past, or if you have a condition such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) that affects your weight. 

Still, the weight conversation is one worth having with your fertility specialist if you’re worried about your egg quality. Both being over and underweight has been linked to egg quality by researchers time and again. 

Obesity in particular has been found to affect the hormones that guide an egg as it matures. On the other hand, being underweight can stop the body from ovulating entirely. 

The “right” weight for your body is one you and your doctor can discuss. If changes are in order, they can help craft a plan for healthy changes — or recommend a dietician who can. For our Split program, there are BMI requirements, which you can read more about here.

The bottom line

The quality of your eggs may not be completely in your control, but you do have solid options when it comes to improving your egg quality before freezing. What you put into your body makes a difference, and making changes now can make a real difference down the line. 

If you’re a female physician in the United States, you may have heard that you’re at a higher risk of infertility than your female friends who took a different career path. It certainly sounds like the kind of “fact’ that gets posted on social media one day and suddenly becomes gospel, whether it’s true or not. 

Unfortunately, we can’t just write this one off as a social media hoax. Researchers have run the numbers, and it turns out almost 25% of female doctors who are trying to conceive are faced with fertility challenges. This is about double the rate of the general public.

“It turns out almost 25% of female doctors who are trying to conceive are faced with fertility challenges. This is about double the rate of the general public. “

So what’s going on? Should you be freezing your eggs now just in case? Is there anything else you can do? Read on for the research into this fertility concern and what American doctors are doing about it. 

Female doctors and fertility

General fertility rates have been trending downward in the US in recent decades with the CDC reporting record low birth rates in 2018 and only minimal increases since. In 2021, the American birth rate was 1,663 births per 1,000 women — not enough to maintain stable population figures in the US. 

And while some of that could be due to personal choice, scientists have found increasing rates of reproductive problems are cropping up in women and men. Miscarriage rates are up about one % every year and so are the rates of gestational surrogacy — an option growing in popularity for intended parents seeking the help of an additional party for conception. 

But the plight of female doctors stands out among all these figures: 

• 1 in 4 — The approximate number of female physicians who were diagnosed with infertility after trying to have a baby, according to a survey published in the Journal of Women’s Health in 2016 
• 11 % — The percentage of American women in the general population have had the same diagnosis. 
• 42 % —The amount of female surgeons who have experienced a pregnancy loss, according to a survey published in JAMA Surgery in July 2021 which reported that 42 % had experienced a pregnancy loss. 

What’s going on?

What makes female doctors so different from the rest of the population? In part, their education. 

There’s no real way to put this nicely: Age matters when it comes to fertility. Extensive medical research on fertility shows that getting older has a major effect on our reproduction system and our ability to conceive.

But many female doctors — surgeons included — delay pregnancy until after the completion of their residency. How long that will take depends on the doctor’s specialty, but this can be another three to eight years after medical school. For surgeons, a residency is a minimum of five years. 

That puts many female doctors into their 30s before they even begin trying to have their first child. In fact, in the 2016 survey, doctors reported they were 31.6 year old on average at completion of medical school and residency and 30.4 years on average at first pregnancy. By comparison, the average age of an American woman giving birth for the first time in the US is 26 years old, according to data compiled for the New York Times in 2018. 

Almost a third — 28% — of the female doctors surveyed in 2016 who experienced fertility challenges said they would have begun trying to conceive earlier if they could have seen what lay ahead. Close to the same number — 29% — said they experienced diminished ovarian reserve, a condition in which their fertility challenge was linked to having fewer eggs in the body. This condition is largely associated with age. 

But delaying reproduction is only part of the puzzle.

Even after adjusting for age, female physicians have higher rates of infertility. Perhaps this is due to female doctors facing high rates of stress at work that put a strain on the body and can affect reproduction as a whole. Those who opt to start a family before residency is complete may face irregular work schedules and long, grueling shifts that can put intense strain on anyone’s body, but prove especially hard for someone who is pregnant.

Together, all of these factors can have a significant impact on the fertility of a female doctor. 

How can female doctors preserve their fertility?

The numbers may seem a little daunting, especially if you’re in medical school or the midst of your residency. So what can women do about it? 

An infertility task force now exists as part of the American Medical Women’s Association to find answers to this problem plaguing women in medicine, and individual doctors around the country have been working to advocate for improved fertility education and fertility insurance coverage for their peers. 

One of the chief criticisms of the current system comes from Dr. Areila Marshall, one of the founders of the AMWA task force, who wrote about the issue in the journal Academic Medicine in 2020 calling for better awareness of egg, embryo, and sperm cryopreservation. 

Marshall echoed a wish expressed by a number of the physicians who took part in the original 2016 survey: 7% of those doctors said they wished they had known to use cryopreservation to extend their fertility. 

For female doctors who don’t know when — or even if — they want to conceive, egg freezing can be a viable option. 

Freezing is not a guarantee that you will have a baby down the line. It simply means that eggs will be there, waiting, if you decide at some point in the future that you wish to explore conception. 

At Freeze by Co, we are committed to giving women the opportunity to have more control over their reproductive choices. Here women have a variety of paths they can choose from when it comes to egg freezing – whether they’re looking to freeze eggs now or have already frozen some of their eggs.  

Members of our Split program even freeze for free when they give half  of their eggs to intended parents who cannot otherwise conceive.

Bottom line

Women should not have to choose between a dream of pursuing a career in medicine and making reproductive decisions on their own timeline. Egg freezing gives women the power to make more choices about her own body.

While in theory, the idea of egg freezing would have many raising their hands to give this a try, practically speaking it may be more complicated. There are real-world factors to consider: Do I need to freeze my eggs? Will I actually need them down the line? Am I a good candidate? And if so, would it actually fit into my budget, and are the logistics really feasible?

No need to wonder. Here’s what you need to know to make egg freezing possible in reality and the sort of programs where you can bring this to fruition.

Affordable egg freezing programs

We at Cofertility are dedicated to the idea that egg freezing should be more accessible. To make it possible for more of those who are interested, we have designed two different programs that prioritize different aspects of egg freezing. Take our quiz to see if you qualify for these programs.

Paying for keeps

With our “Keep” program, it’s about maximizing the number of eggs that you freeze, geared to enabling many people to be able to answer the question, “Can I freeze my eggs?” with a big, “Yes.”

As a member in this program, you get access to discounted prices we’ve negotiated with clinics and pharmacies, as well as a community of women also freezing their eggs at the same time. With this Keep program we give more leeway on exactly who can participate. While we are aware that research shows that fertility starts to decrease considerably after age 35, you can still take part in the program as long as you are under age 40.

This is egg freezing with real world families in mind, with steps taken to make fees more affordable. The idea is to lighten the load and to make budgeting for egg freezing that much easier, while bringing a little more joy and positivity to the process

The Split cycle

With our Split program, it’s all about taking budgeting out of the equation altogether, while helping another family. 

As a Split program member, if you qualify, you don’t have to set money aside for these burdensome costs at all – they are free as part of the program, including up to ten-years of storage. In return, you give half of your retrieved eggs from a cycle to someone who would be otherwise unable to conceive. The family receiving the donated eggs pays for all the costs to freeze and store your eggs, for their use to build a family now, and your use in the future. 

But, because we are splitting the number of eggs here, every single one counts that much more. So, we need to be more stringent in determining who can become a Split member. 

Important X factors

One of the factors that we weigh heavily for the Split program is age. In order to participate, you cannot be over age 34. That’s because data shows that, on average, those over 35 may not respond to fertility medication as well and therefore may not produce as many eggs. Also, research shows that, unfortunately, egg quality declines with age. 

Given the amount of time it may take to do initial testing and to match you with an intended parent, we have aligned our policy with ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) guidance on this and limit membership here to those who have not yet turned 34. This way if there’s a hiccup along the way, you won’t have to miss out — there should still be sufficient time to participate in the program.

Another factor to consider is what’s known as your anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels. These levels signal how responsive your ovaries are likely to be to medication given to stimulate them to produce multiple eggs. If this number is pretty high, it usually means that your ovaries will respond well to stimulation. 

If at the time of initial screening, your ovarian reserve appears low based on your ultrasound and bloodwork, you, unfortunately, will not be eligible for the Split program, although you can still become a Keep member and achieve your goals that way. The ASRM guidance underscores the importance of considering biomarkers that indicate a donor’s potential ovarian reserve as part of the selection process. Scientists have found the AMH serum range of 2.20 to 6.8 ng/ml to be the one that research predicts will show if someone has enough ovarian reserve. This indicates how you will likely respond during an egg freezing cycle. 

No matter your ovarian reserve, you can still freeze your eggs. You just may not qualify for our Split program. That’s because we want to ensure that enough eggs are produced in the cycle to make it worthwhile for everyone after the eggs are divided, without your feeling that you’ve come up short and won’t be happy unless you do another cycle.

If you’re among those who qualify though, as many in their fertility prime may be able, this can be a golden opportunity. Feel free to read more about qualifications for joining our Split program.

Logistics

There is, of course, also the question of where you’ll need to go to make all this happen. 

If you’re a Split member, your initial physical screening takes place after you are matched with an intended parent. This includes some blood work and a vaginal ultrasound, which helps determine if this program will work for you, and will likely take place somewhere between where you and the intended parent’s locale. If any travel is needed though, our team will help you to make this happen, doing the necessary organizing. But monitoring for the cycle itself can be done at a local clinic right in your own area.

Meanwhile, Keep members have the flexibility to do the testing as well as the cycle locally, where it’s most convenient. 

Can you freeze your eggs? 

So, is this something that could practically work for you? Both of our programs are designed to make this feasible for a wide-variety of women. We try to keep costs down for Keep members while offering added flexibility to pursue their egg freezing goals. Meanwhile, for Split members the financial barriers are removed altogether.

Hopefully, this helps you to see how, practically speaking, you too can raise your hand up high and answer the question, “Can you freeze your eggs?” with a giant, yes, to make egg freezing in reality.

Deciding to freeze your eggs can do more than put you in the driver’s seat of your reproductive journey. Going through the process of retrieving and freezing your eggs can give you insights into your health, offer you peace of mind about how you’ll accomplish your goals, and allow you to create a blueprint for building the family you’ve always dreamed of.

As you and your doctor work together to ready your eggs for retrieval you’ll end up learning valuable information about the state of your fertility and what you need to know before you’re ready to take the next steps. 

You could get a heads up about certain reproductive concerns

As part of the preparation for freezing your eggs your doctor will likely do ovarian reserve testing which uses a blood test called Anti-Mullierian Hormone (AMH). Using a blood sample collected on the third day of your period your doctor will be also able to see how much estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormones are present during this key window in your reproductive cycle.

AMH levels are generally higher during your childbearing years and then they begin to decline as you head towards menopause, becoming almost nonexistant afterwards. 

You’ll get a better picture of your reproductive schedule

According to the Mayo Clinic, after you’ve decided to move forward with the process you’ll begin taking hormone injections. These hormones will have two distinct jobs—ovarian stimulation and preventing premature ovulation—which your doctor will achieve using a variety of medications. 

Your doctor will begin monitoring you and checking two very important levels:

• Estrogen (an increase means your follicles are developing)
• Progesterone (low levels will mean you haven’t ovulated yet)

Not only will you discover how your body reacts to stimulation (giving you a great deal of information about how your egg production is going) but you’ll also have an idea of when you should ovulate. Knowing exactly when the clock starts ticking—your eggs will be ready for retrieval after 10-14 days—will let you know what you can expect for this cycle. 

Your doctor will find out how many follicles you have

Speaking of follicles, these are the sacs where your eggs will stay until they have matured. Your doctor will likely use a vaginal ultrasound to check the status of your ovaries to see how many follicles have developed, indicating how many eggs you’ll likely have for retrieval. That number is going to be very important (and very exciting) for both you and your doctor. 

To give you an idea of why that number matters so much, you’ll need to know how many eggs you need to increase the potential for a live birth. A 2020 study in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that a woman under the age of 35 averaged 21 eggs on their first round of egg retrieval. At that age, you would need approximately 9 eggs to ensure a 70% chance of a live birth. Once you find out how many follicles you have you might have a better idea of your pregnancy success rate when the time comes. 

There will be additional health screenings 

Another thing you’ll learn about your fertility is whether you have any diseases that you can pass onto a future child, via a genetic carrier screening test. Your doctor will also likely have you undergo an infectious disease screening—which will check for things like HIV and certain varieties of hepatitis—as part of your work up. These tests are different from genetic screenings, which looks for the potential changes in your genetic blueprint indicating heredity conditions that can be passed onto your child.  

Some people who freeze their eggs may do genetic testing ahead of time, whether because they already know that certain conditions run in their family or because they have a limited understanding of their family history. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), genetic testing can even give you information about some types of cancers that could impact your reproductive system, making it another important tool in your fertility arsenal. 

Getting proactive can save you money

By being proactive about your fertility journey you not only get to make the decisions about what your future family will look like based on your terms, but you’ll also be able to get an idea of what may lie ahead for you if you decide to have a child.

Of course, freezing your eggs can be expensive. It costs an estimated $10,000-20,000 per cycle. Fortunately, there are egg freezing programs like Freeze by Co that can help you navigate financial pain points that may make planning for that future family a little bit harder by offsetting some of the costs associated with freezing your eggs. Freeze by Co offers members two different options for freezing their eggs. Split Members may qualify to freeze their eggs for free when they donate half of their eggs to other families looking to conceive.

There are even benefits for those who want to use the Freeze by Co’s Keep program. As the name indicates, Keep Members keep all of the eggs collected during retrieval while still benefiting from discounted costs in the way of less expensive medications and more.